Helen Stuart Campbell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Helen Stuart Campbell
"A woman of the century"
Born	Helen Campbell Stuart (1839-07-05)July 5, 1839 Lockport, New York, U.S.
Died	July 2, 1918(1918-07-02) (aged 78) Dedham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Resting place	Eliot, Maine, U.S.
Pen name	Helen Weeks, Helen Campbell, Helen Wheaton
Occupation	Author, editor, social reformer, home economist
Language	English
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Mrs. Cook's seminary, Bloomington, New Jersey
Literary movement	home economics
Notable works	Household Economics
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Helen Stuart Campbell (born July 5, 1839 – died July 22, 1918) was an amazing American writer and editor. She was also a social reformer, which means she worked to make society better. Helen was a leader in the field of home economics, which is all about managing a home and family life. Her book, Household Economics (1897), was one of the first textbooks on this subject. She used different pen names like Helen Weeks, Helen Campbell, and Helen Wheaton.

Early Life and Learning

Helen Campbell Stuart was born in Lockport, New York. Her parents were Jane E. (née Campbell) and Homer H. Stuart. Her family had Scottish roots and came from Vermont.

Helen's family was important in early American history. Her ancestors fought in several wars. Her father, Homer Stuart, was a lawyer in New York City for over 50 years.

Helen went to school in Warren, Rhode Island. She also attended Mrs. Cook's seminary in Bloomington, New Jersey. She studied there from 1850 to 1858.

Helen's Career Journey

Helen Campbell had a very active and interesting career. She started by writing stories for young people. Later, she became a strong voice for social change.

Writing for Young Readers

Around 1859 or 1860, Helen married Dr. Grenville Mellen Weeks. He was an army surgeon. Living in different parts of the U.S. gave her many experiences. These experiences later appeared in her books.

Helen was full of energy and had a great imagination. She also cared deeply about people. At 23, she began writing for children under her married name, Helen C. Weeks. She wrote for magazines like Our Young Folks and The Riverside Magazine.

Her stories were lively and often funny or sad. Soon, her stories became longer books. These books were part of the Ainslee Series. This series included "Ainslee," "Grandpa's House," "Four and What They Did," and "White and Red." These books were very popular and were even printed in England. She also wrote Six Sinners, His Grandmothers, and The American Girl's Hand-book of Work and Play.

Working for Social Change

In 1878, Helen Campbell taught at the Raleigh Cooking School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Around 1882, she became an editor for Our Continent magazine. She wrote popular novels for the magazine, like Under Green Apple Boughs. She also wrote The What-to-do-Club.

Helen Campbell

Helen's book Problem of the Poor (1880) sparked her interest in helping those in need. This book brought attention to ways of helping poor people in New York City. Some of her ideas appeared in her novel Mrs. Herndon's Income. This book was first a magazine series. It made Helen a respected novelist. It also caught the attention of people who wanted to help others.

From 1881 to 1884, Helen was a literary editor for the Continent magazine in Philadelphia. In 1889, she started a section in Good Housekeeping magazine called "Woman's Work and Wages." This led her to study women who worked outside the home.

In 1891, Helen won an award from the American Economic Association. She won it for her study on "Women Wage-Earners." This study was later made into a book in 1893. It was one of the first big studies about American women working for wages.

In 1886, the New York Tribune newspaper asked her to investigate women workers in New York. This work led to a series of articles called "Prisoners of Poverty." These articles showed the difficult lives of working women in the city. They helped bring about many improvements for these workers.

In 1894, Helen became a professor at the University of Wisconsin. She taught household economics there until 1897. Then, she moved to the State Agricultural College of Kansas. Her 1897 book, Household Economics, was based on her lectures at the university.

Helen also traveled to London, Paris, Italy, and Germany. She studied the lives of working people there for over a year. Her experiences abroad became another book, Prisoners of Poverty Abroad. She also wrote biographies and historical studies. One of her later works, Darkness and Daylight in New York, described different parts of New York City life.

Helen also worked as a professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin. She was a professor of domestic science at Kansas State Agricultural College. She was also a head resident at Unity Settlement in Chicago.

Personal Life

Helen married Dr. Grenville Mellen Weeks in 1859 or 1860. He was a doctor and a soldier. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1871.

Helen was a member of several important groups. These included the Sorosis Club of New York and the American Economic Association. She was also part of the Consumers' League and the Women's Press Club. For most of her life, she lived in New York City.

Later in her life, she became a follower of the Baháʼí Faith. She spent time at Green Acre, a Baháʼí institution in Eliot, Maine. By 1915, she was in Boston. She spent her last days in Dedham, Massachusetts. Helen died in 1918 from heart and kidney problems. Her body was taken to Eliot, Maine.

Selected Works